Bright Lights
by xxwanderlustdreamingxx
Summary: In which Caroline is struggling with writing and Klaus is struggling with himself. And the idea that she's the one to put him back together seems incredible even to her. Because she's Caroline, and he's Klaus. AU/AH where Caroline is a semi famous writer and Klaus is an incredibly famous musician.
1. Chapter 1

"So I need your help." Elena says straight away, in lieu of any sort of traditional greeting or 'how are you, how's life?' Caroline sighs instead, propping the phone against her shoulder as she wipes down the bar because that's always been Elena's style, straight to the point and no nonsense.

She loves her for it, but sometimes it drives her just that little bit insane.

"You do realise I'm working right?" She replies amusedly, eyes scanning over the familiar nightclub scene. It's quiet at the moment, but she'll give it an hour before the bar is packed and she's drowning in alcohol and the rich and the famous and mid life crises.

Elena chooses to ignore that minor detail as well.

"So I've got this client right? I didn't ask for him, he was sort of pushed upon me without me having any idea. And he's super gorgeous, and super talented, and really really famous right now."

Caroline shakes her head in confusion but waits for the other shoe to drop and for Elena to continue with her tangent. Because she knows that there'll be one, and it will either be spectacular or spell trouble for her. Possibly both.

"Except he's a total mess. Got out of a relationship with this girl, and can't seem to pull himself together sort of mess. Drinking, thankfully not hard drugs, but still a nightmare for me to deal with. And he's expected to produce a new album by the end of the year." Elena continues. There's a clinking of a glass in the background and Caroline suspects that Elena's gotten into the bottle of whisky that she bequeathed Elena for Christmas. It was for emergencies only, so she knows that this is sort of serious, because Elena drinking at work is like Father Christmas coming in July.

It's like a light bulb clicking on over her head as she realises who exactly Elena is referring too.

"Klaus Mikaelson right?" She asks suddenly, interrupting Elena mid sentence. There's a long pause, the sound of breathing the only thing that could be heard as her best friend stops to gather her thoughts.

"How did you know that? I only picked him up last week!" Elena exclaimed, the slightest hint of horror leaking through her voice.

Caroline shrugs as she moves to pull a beer for a customer, pointing to the till and taking the money.

"Honey you forget I bartend at a club on the Strip. People talk. A lot. It's all anyone can ever talk about actually. What did you need my help for anyway? As much as I love talking about Klaus Mikaelson with you I really should be working."

"Oh right, completely forgot I rang for an actual reason other than to bitch about what a nightmare my job has just become."

Caroline doesn't stop herself from laughing then, because it's such an Elena thing to say. Elena works in Public Relations, or PR as it's more commonly known in Hollywood. And she's the best of the best. People clamour for her to represent them. She's a fixer, she makes things disappear. Caroline doesn't really want to know what Elena has to do to bury some of the stuff she's had to in the past, but she's learnt not to ask too many questions.

"So we sort of need to clean up his image a little bit. His approval is slipping in the public eye, and people are losing interest in him. I'd normally put him in front of a camera with a litter of puppies like I did with Salvatore in 2011, but I don't think I can get away with doing the same thing twice."

Caroline sighs as Elena continues. Across the floor her manager; Matt Donavon is eyeing her off, the look on his face just short of murderous. She mouths an apology as she turns back towards the phone. Matt is usually cool with her answering the phone at work, but she feels a little guilty for letting this conversation go on as long as it has.

"I need you to date Klaus Mikaelson." Elena finishes, and she gapes into the phone at those words.

"You've got to be kidding me Elena. One, the man is incredibly gorgeous and could have anyone he wanted, two, as you said he just got out of a relationship and he's an absolute mess. And three, I can't just put my life on hold and date Klaus Mikaelson! Are you insane?" She knows that she's gesticulating wildly and probably looks like the world's biggest idiot right now but that's not the point.

The point is, her best friend has actually gone insane and this needs to be rectified.

"Come back to the light Elena." She pleads. "You know you don't want to do this. I have cookies!" She adds, like that's magically going to make it all better.

Matt is practically breathing down her neck as he stands beside her, pointing at his watch with a raised eyebrow.

"Matt is totally staring you down isn't he?" Elena replies after another long silence. "Never mind, we'll discuss this tomorrow. Brunch at Miguel's at 11?"

"I hate you." Caroline tells her as the phone clicks and all she hears is dial tone. Not saying goodbye is an endearing Elena thing as well apparently.

Somewhat meekly, she turns to Matt, who is still staring at her.

"Elena says hi?" She phrases it as a question, not above name dropping Elena, who Matt has a massive crush on to get her out of trouble. Unfortunately for Matt, Elena is in a committed relationship with Damon Salvatore, a big time record company owner/producer who Caroline sort of loves and sort of hates at the same time.

Damon assures her repeatedly that the feeling is mutual.

Matt just shakes his head as he pushes her towards the bar and lowers the lights.

"Just don't make a habit of it Care." He yells over the music.

The thing is, Caroline sort of owes Matt big time. When she first came to this town, attracted by the bright lights of Hollywood and the glitz and glamour that surrounded it, it was Matt that gave her a job at Maxwell's, one of the most popular nightclubs around with the rich and famous set.

She'd wanted to be an actor, but had settled for writing once she found out that she was actually good at it. Her first book, about a girl and a boy and an industry that almost tore them apart, debuted at number 1 on the best sellers list, and stayed there for quite a while.

She has Bonnie Bennett, a top model on her speed dial, and she can afford a lavish apartment in L.A, and she probably doesn't need to work outside of her writing, but she likes this job, it keeps her grounded.

And this way she gets to meet people, even if she's usually helping them on the way to total inebriation and fuelling some pretty serious habits.

Her favourite is Kol Mikaelson, the front man of the biggest band around at the moment. He's a regular, turning up every Friday without fail when he's not on tour. He always orders the same thing, beer first, then Jaeger, then tequila.

"Darling pour yourself a shot will you? We're celebrating tonight!" Kol says with a whoop, throwing his arms up in the air with a giddy smile on his face. The bar is packed, but he still finds room enough to lean over it and press a clumsy kiss to her lips.

They've had a thing a couple of times, more of a friend with benefits than anything serious. She loves him for it as well, she can appreciate that he's good looking, she's good looking, and all that she's going to get out of it is really great sex.

She figures as long as Kol is in hell when she arrives then she'll be okay.

Her hips move to the music, an almost automatic reaction as the bass line of the Pitbull song washes over her. Kol shimmies at her from across the bar; mouthing the chorus '_I know you want me.' _At her. She gives him a sassy wink in reply as she feels around behind her for a bottle of Grey Goose, pouring herself and Kol a shot as requested.

Once she's leaning across the bar and clinking her shot glass against Kol's she motions for him to come closer.

"I don't even know what we're celebrating!" She yells at him, and he winces because she's a little too close, and he could have heard her perfectly well. She mouths an apology at him.

"My older brother has dropped that horrible girlfriend of his. I was going to convince him to come out tonight but it would be such a drag having to make sure that he's not going to fall face first into the nearest glass of bourbon."

She scoffs at him as they down their shots simultaneously, moving in sync like they so often do. She can see Matt eyeing her, seeing if she's okay and she gives him a quick thumbs up and a nod.

"Give me some credit Kol, you know that I'd keep him on the straight and narrow." She replies as Kol hands the shot glass back. She moves to fix him his next drink, eyeing him off carefully to see just how gone he is.

"Trust me darling, I don't think anyone can keep Niklaus on the straight and narrow. He's a bit of a handful at the moment." Kol snorts with a laugh.

She stops short and stares at him then, because of course Kol is Niklaus' younger brother. The last name Mikaelson isn't really common around here. She can put two and two together though, and surmises that Elijah Mikaelson, the TV anchor is no doubt related as well.

"I heard your best friend is his PR person as well. She's going to need some hard liquor very soon." Kol continues conversationally as he sips at the drink she hands to him and rings it up. Kol hands over his black AMEX, instructing her to open a tab as per usual.

She does and passes the card back to him, making sure that he actually puts it back in his wallet instead of leaving it on the bar like he did last time for anyone to pick it up and take it. Idiot.

"Yeah well if anyone can get your brother back on track it's Elena." Caroline remarks, because it's definitely true.

"Elena is a very scary person. I don't doubt it even a bit. Are you coming with me on tour?" Kol asks with a flirtatious grin on his face.

It's become a thing with them. Every time Kol goes on tour he asks her to come. And she doesn't doubt for a minute what her role would be, to warm Kol's bed and to be a companion to him. And as tempting as the idea of pretty much round the clock sex is, she can see herself killing Kol because he's such an insufferable little shit.

Somehow she doesn't think the millions of fans that Kol has all over the world would really appreciate it.

And she loves the dynamic they have at the moment, wouldn't change it for the world.

"You know what the answer's going to be Casanova." Caroline replies with a laugh as she kisses him on the cheek. "Now go forth into the ether and go and find someone that will get you laid."

Kol presses a hand to his heart, looking wounded for only an instant.

"You wound me my love. For there is but one sun to orbit my universe and it's you Caroline." He proclaims dramatically, and she tries to stop herself from laughing. Kol picks up his drink though, and gives her a jaunty salute as he plunges into the crowd of writhing bodies.

Shaking her head, she turns back to the bar and just like that she's drowning in orders.

* * *

Its hours later, with Kol in her bed and the beginnings of a headache that Caroline casts her mind back to her conversation with Elena.

She spares a quick glance at Kol's sleeping form, allowing her eyes to follow the sharp lines and contours of his body as he lies splayed out on his back, chest rising and falling with each steady inhalation and exhalation.

She sees Kol frown as he feels around for her, and she presses a gentle kiss to his forehead, smoothing back his hair as she swings herself out of bed. She steals his shirt from the floor to cover her naked form before padding into the adjoining study where she does all of her writing.

It only takes a few seconds to power up her MacBook, and another minute to pull up Google. Caroline pauses as she flexes her fingers, wondering if she's really going to go down this particular rabbit hole before she types in the name _'Niklaus Mikaelson' _into the search bar and hits enter.

Thousands of hits come in almost instantly, and she scrolls past the first few ones. There's a Wikipedia entry on him, a couple of fan sites, but she's not looking for that. She clicks on a few news articles, and she's met instantly with a picture of Klaus and a gorgeous brunette, a brunette that she recognises almost instantly.

If she didn't know better she would say that she's Elena down to the very last curled piece of hair. But as she looks closer she can see that there are differences. The cheekbones are harsher; the eyes are colder, more dead. The curl of her lips when she smiles is different.

_Tatia Petrova. _The caption proclaims.

Looking at Klaus, you can't deny that he loves her. Or he loved her. A quick scan of the article tells her that it was distance that drove them apart, and her highly publicised fling with her co-star, Mason Lockwood was the final nail in the coffin so to speak.

The articles that follow paint a tragic sort of story, the once relevant musician with songs almost like poetry now fading into obscurity, while Tatia's star burns almost as bright as a supernova. Apparently cheating on someone is the prime way to elevate your status in Hollywood, because she's been flooded with work in the past couple of weeks.

She would feel sorry for Niklaus, but she doesn't even know him.

"Babe what are you doing?" A soft voice echoes from the door frame as her eyes flick up to meet Kol's. She tries to stay calm as she deletes her browser history and shuts down her laptop.

His hair is rumpled and he still looks half asleep as she smiles at him fondly.

"I had an idea and had to write it down." She lies easily as she closes the lid of her MacBook.

Kol gives her a sleepy smile as he crosses the room to join her. He's holding a bottle of water and some aspirin and he hands both to her. Caroline is sort of amazed sometimes just how well Kol can read her, but she doesn't say anything, just knocks back the pills and shoots him a grateful smile.

"Come back to bed. I'll make it worth your while." Kol says with a grin, waggling his eyebrows and looking a bit more awake as he pulls Caroline towards him. She goes with it, letting him pepper kisses over her neck and the column of her throat.

"I don't doubt you will. But would you kill me if I said that I wanted to sleep?"

Kol draws back and looks thoughtful for a moment.

"Can we have shower sex in the morning to make up for it?"

Caroline giggles as she pushes him back towards the bedroom.

"Only if you make me breakfast afterwards."

Kol tucks her against him as he pulls the covers over both of them.

"You have got yourself a deal."

* * *

AN:/ So I was trying to write a semi canon compliant Klaus/Caroline oneshot when I was struck with musician Klaus feels. So this just came to me in a sudden flash of inspiration really.

I'll probably continue this when I have time, because I really want to see this one through.

Do you like the Caroline/Kol friendship?

Reviews feed the muse!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any characters affiliated with the series etc.

* * *

Caroline meets Elena promised the next morning at 11. They're meeting at Miguel's, an upmarket French bakery that anyone who's anyone is seen at the morning after a big night out on the town.

She feels fresh, rejuvenated by her morning with Kol and the fact that the sun is beating down on her pleasantly as she strides confidently along the pavement, phone in her hand and her skirt fluttering against her thighs.

The street is busy as usual, filled with commuters in corporate wear on their way to work and the occasional balding fat guy that is synonymous with a paparazzo. She pastes a smile on her face, just in case they decide that she's going to be relevant today. They usually only take her photo when it's a slow news day, and the tabloids want to pick apart her arrangement with Kol.

People are placing a bet on when Kol's going to propose to her, but she just lets it roll off her back.

Elena is slumped down in her seat and obviously nursing a hangover if the dark glasses masking her features is any indication. She tones down the cheeriness a notch as she slides into the seat opposite her

"Do you need anything? Aspirin? Water? Bloody Mary?" Caroline asks sweetly as Elena lowers her sunglasses just enough to shoot her a murderous glare.

Caroline just laughs.

"Oh sweetheart. Here. Take two of these and drink that whole glass before you go back into work today." She adds, motioning to the glass of water and handing her two of the white pills.

Elena grudgingly knocks back the pills before composing herself. Caroline calls it her business face, when she really gets going and gets in the zone. So with a sigh she waves the waiter over, ordering her usual.

"So have you given much thought to my idea?" Elena asks, a little brighter as she sits up a little straighter in her chair.

"I'm not really sure why you're asking me of all people."

Elena lifts one shoulder in a half shrug of sorts.

"It's quite simple really. People like stability, and this entire industry thrives on the idea of two mutually beautiful people in a relationship with each other. It's been made very clear that Klaus is priority number one for me at the moment, I've had to pass off some of my other clients to associates."

Caroline whistled lowly as she leant forwards in her chair, pouring herself a glass of water.

"I need someone I can trust. You're still relatively relevant around here; you're in the middle of your next novel aren't you?" She asks, not waiting for Caroline to confirm or deny. "You don't have a drug problem, you don't have many skeletons in your closet, and you're a hell of a lot more put together than most of the candidates his team gave me to consider."

"Elena." Caroline interrupts. Elena ignores her, barrelling on in typical Elena Gilbert fashion.

"We don't need someone famous, he's already famous enough as is. I need someone normal, someone that will make him look human as well. And this is where you come in. Whatever your arrangement is with Kol Mikaelson, and I'm not judging because he's gorgeous and good for you, but if you agree to this you're going to have to stop whatever it is." Elena finished, waving a hand in Caroline's direction.

Caroline just blinks at her, wondering if she's finished or if she's allowed to speak now.

"You're acting like I'm going to agree to this."

Elena looks supremely confident in her abilities of persuasion as she smiles across the table at Caroline.

"Of course you're going to agree, it's Niklaus Mikaelson. You only had his last album on repeat for 2 months wasn't it?"

Caroline tries to hide the blush because it's true, she has both of Klaus' albums and they're both very worn in. Kol teased her about it for weeks after he found the copies sitting on top of her stereo. He then immediately went and bought her the entire back catalogue of his band's music.

"And if I do actually agree to this, what's it going to entail exactly?"

Elena grins at her.

"Oh you'll go to a few events; we'll set up a few shots of you leaving his house in the morning, go and have dinner with him. You don't have to sleep with him or anything, just make it seem like you are, the press will eat it up, we'll get him back in the charts, and then you can go your separate ways. I'll make sure to instrument an exit plan for you as well." She remarks thoughtfully, typing something in on her Blackberry that's seemingly glued to her hand.

"Make sure it's something that will garner plenty of public sympathy." Caroline remarks jokingly as Elena blinks at her.

"Oh it will be. Just leave it to me Care." Elena continues, typing a little more furiously on her BlackBerry now.

"Wait! I haven't actually said that I'll do it!" Caroline exclaims as she reaches across the table towards Elena.

"Sorry. Got a little carried away." Elena replies sheepishly, sliding the phone into her pocket. "It does only a few months' tops Care, and you'd really be doing me a massive favour here."

She stared across the table at her best friend for a long time, weighing up the pros and cons in her head. On the one hand it was Niklaus Mikaelson, who wrote songs that made her weak at the knees, was incredibly gorgeous, and seemed like an okay sort of person. On the other hand, he was Kol's brother, he was incredibly damaged, and she'd have to give up sex for a few months, which was sort of inconceivable to her.

With a sigh, she nodded to her best friend, who did a fist pump across the table before pulling out her phone again.

"You're the best Care. You won't regret it I promise." Elena murmurs absentmindedly.

The waiter arrives, setting her croissant in front of her. And as she picks at it half heartedly she sort of wonders exactly what she's getting herself into.

* * *

Kol just laughs at her as she barges past him and into his apartment. Heading straight for the bar that Kol has installed, because it's Kol and he's sort of a rock star and having a bar in your penthouse apartment is a pre requisite these days, she some Smirnoff and takes a swig straight from the bottle.

Kol's tapping out a message on his phone, ignoring her as she works through the bottle of vodka on her own. Then he turns on the sound system and comes to join her, hopping up on the bar and motioning for her to hand the bottle over.

She does, frowning when he holds it to his body as he narrows his eyes at her.

"What's wrong? As much as I love seeing you darling it's not every day that you body check me into a wall and start swigging a bottle of vodka like its mouth wash." He remarks conversationally as he takes another mouthful of alcohol.

She pokes a finger into his chest and he catches it, pulling her close.

"What happened?" He repeats quietly, brushing some hair out of her eyes. This is the Kol that she really loves sometimes. Not like passionate want-to-marry-the-guy love but more of an affectionate fondness that she's come to associate with him.

Kol might be a dick sometimes, but he really cares about the people that he cherishes, and she's grateful that she's one of them, even if their relationship isn't the most conventional.

"I'm going to be dating your older brother soon." She blurts out suddenly. Kol doesn't look surprised, more amused as he takes in the distressed state of her.

"I wasn't aware Elijah was back on the market. Poor Katerina must be inconsolable." He continues with a massive smirk on his face. "I know darling, Elena already called."

She doesn't want to know how exactly Elena has Kol's number but again, it's one of those questions that she just doesn't ask.

"You're not mad?" She questions in a quiet voice as she sighs, hopping up on the bar beside Kol. He raises his arm and she settles in under it almost automatically as he chuckles. He sets the vodka down somewhere next to him and rubs a hand up and down her arm comfortingly.

"Of course not. You'll always be my Caroline, my friend. Just minus all the really great sex now I suppose." Kol says mournfully.

There's a comfortable silence between them as she listens to the steady beating of Kol's heart.

"It's probably for the best. I'm going on tour soon again anyway. And if anyone can put him back together it's you." He tells her quietly, and she realises that he knows exactly what sort of arrangement she'll have.

"I don't want to lose you though." She tells him as he grins again, shifting so he's cupping her face between his hands.

"Caroline. I promise you won't lose me." Kol says sincerely as her eyes meet his.

"I'm going to miss this." She says honestly as they pause again in silence. Kol's guitar calloused fingers are dancing along her arms gently now, causing goose bumps to pimple all over her skin.

Kol has this look on his face that she's come to associate with trouble, and she meets his gaze somewhat warily.

"From what Elena insinuated, technically your agreement doesn't start until tomorrow when you meet her and Nik." He said slowly, still running his hands up and down her arms. He leans forward to press a kiss to her lips as he grins. "This means that we still have tonight." He adds, smile spreading across his face.

Caroline can't help but grin in return, because he's sort of right and she's not really done with him quite yet.

Kol passes her the bottle and she takes another swig.

"What did you have in mind exactly Mikaelson?" She asks coyly, leaning back on the marbled surface of the bar, elbows propping her up.

Kol just rolls his eyes as he pulls her off the bar, tugging her towards the lounge and pressing her down into the soft fabric. Caroline giggles as he hovers over her, eyes dark as his eyes rove over her body.

"I haven't got that far yet." He replies with an easy grin.

She raises an eyebrow somewhat incredulously.

"But I promise I'll make it worth your while." Is all he says before he captures her lips with his once more.

* * *

"You have a date with Klaus Mikaelson?" Bonnie arches an eyebrow incredulously as she flicks through the racks of the boutique they're in. The shop attendant is eyeing them curiously as they move further into the shop, but turns away quickly once Caroline glares at her.

But then again she sort of doesn't really blame her. It's not every day that a Victoria's Secret model just strolls into your boutique one summer's day.

That's just Bonnie though, she might have a wardrobe full of designer clothes but she swears by the little boutiques that have popped up all over L.A.

"Fake date." Caroline clarifies with a hiss. "It's a fake date. A highly publicised, fake date." She adds through gritted teeth.

Bonnie flashes her a brilliant smile as she laughs, but moves closer and lowers her voice as well.

"Fake date then. Is this why you invited me shopping with you?" She asks curiously as Caroline nods furiously, continuing to flick through the racks of dresses, nothing really jumping out at her yet.

Bonnie grabs a random dress and holds it up to Caroline, tongue clucking as she shakes her head disapprovingly.

"I don't have anything date appropriate to wear. I haven't needed to go on a date since I met Kol." Caroline remarks with a sigh.

"Ah yes the infamous Kol Mikaelson. How has he taken the news that you're 'dating' his older brother now?" Bonnie makes air quotations around the word dating and Caroline tries not to wince.

"Surprisingly well actually. The whole giving up sex thing was somewhat earth shattering for him but he said he'd rather me than some random floozy." Caroline replied with a giggle.

Bonnie laughed along with Caroline.

"I bet he actually said floozy didn't he? Bless him he's so British. I'd date him myself if he wasn't so frustratingly arrogant and if I didn't have Jeremy."

"You know I still don't get what you see in him. You could have any guy that you want and you settle for Elena's younger brother?" Caroline says somewhat incredulously.

Bonnie just smiles fondly.

"Jeremy's normal. It's so refreshing when you work in the fashion industry, to find someone who's just down to earth and just gets you."

Caroline throws her head back and laughs.

"Don't you feel like a cougar though? The kid's still in college after all."

Bonnie just shakes her head as she grins at Caroline.

"It's only three years between us Care. That's nothing in the real world. One day you'll find someone like that, someone who just gets you and makes it all seem so easy. Maybe it might even be Klaus." She says teasingly with a nudge.

Bonnie holds another dress up against her, stopping and staring. Slowly, a smile spreads across her face as she looks Caroline up and down.

"I think we have a winner."

* * *

The dress is a rainbow splattering of paint on a white background and it the heels she's paired it with make her tanned legs look a mile long.

She looks good. She knows she looks good, and Kol almost didn't let her out of the apartment as he whistled appreciatively from his spot on Caroline's couch where he was watching MTV.

He'd promised to vacate the apartment in case she'd needed it after her date, but somehow she didn't anticipate that it would be a problem, considering Niklaus was more than 20 minutes late to dinner.

The waiter approaches her again as she sips at the wine she ordered 10 minutes ago, because she figures if he's going to make her wait she can do it on his dime.

"Sorry miss? Are you sure you didn't want to order anything?"

Caroline smiles politely at him, not missing the way that his eyes linger over her body as he tries to maintain some semblance of professionalism.

"I'm fine thankyou. My date is running a bit late, I'll order when he gets here."

The waiter offers a bow.

"Very well then miss. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thankyou." Caroline replies with another warm smile, peering at his name tag. "Thankyou Jamie. I'll definitely let you know." She adds with a nod.

Jamie scurries off to the kitchen again, and she glances at her watch for the umpteenth time. Pulling out her phone, she sends off a quick message to Elena.

_He's 20 minutes late. Not impressed so far._

Elena's response is almost instantaneous, like she knew that this would be a problem.

_Working on it. He's not picking up his phone. _

She suppresses the urge to growl as she downs the rest of her glass of wine.

_Do something about it. This is embarrassing. _She replies quickly as she drums her fingers against the table.

Her phone buzzes in her hand again, and instead of a text it's a call. From Kol to be more exact. She frowns at the ID for only a moment before answering the call.

"What is it Kol?" She asks impatiently, glancing around at the restaurant. Other patrons had started to realise that she was alone, some whispering behind their hands.

There's an incredible amount of background noise seeping through the line from Kol's end, and she deduces that he's no doubt at a bar drinking again. No surprises there.

"So my older brother is sitting a few stools down from me staring mournfully into his glass. Did your date really go that bad? Are you repulsive to all males except me?" Kol begins conversationally, and she has to fight the urge to let out a strangled scream.

The son of a bitch had stood her up.

Waving over the nearest waiter, she handed over the black AMEX Elena had bequeathed her with earlier today and instructed him to close the tab or bill or whatever the fuck they did here. And then he got her to point her to the back exit, because she was not going out the front entrance tonight. She might have been screwing Kol for the past few months but she still had a reputation to maintain, and she would not be having people know that she was stood up on a date.

"Where are you?" She demands impatiently as she gets to her feet, taking back the credit card and tucking her purse under her arm. Her heels click against the tile of the kitchen as she's waved through to the back.

She's already unlocking the door to her car as Kol answers.

"The Ivy. As if I'd be anywhere else on a Saturday night. Same goes for my brother apparently." Kol replies with a scoff.

She hangs up on him with a click as she presses her foot to the accelerator. The drive to the Ivy isn't that far, and she manages to steal a parking spot as she slams shut the door.

She doesn't know why she's so furious, it's not like it was a real date as such, but she's taking time and effort to actually do this, so the least that he could do is show up and pretend that he's having a good time.

She throws a charming smile at the bouncer who lets her through straight away. She's worked at the Ivy a few times, and she's good friends with Brad, the regular Saturday night bouncer that can make or break you.

It doesn't take Caroline long to spot Kol, surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women. Kol in turn raises his glass towards her with a toast. She ignores it in favour of making a beeline towards the vacated seat next to Klaus, elbowing a leggy brunette out of the way to do so.

The bartender motions towards her and she motions back. There's a shot in front of her before she's settled in, and she's throwing it back before the man next to her can even blink.

Because really, she's going to need some form of liquid courage if she's actually going to do what she's considering doing.

She turns to him then, trying not to think about the fact that this is Niklaus Mikaelson.

"Hi. I'm Caroline. I'm the girl that you're supposed to be meeting for dinner right about now." She says sweetly, the slightest hint of a bite in her tone.

Klaus turns and looks at her with a somewhat bored expression on his face.

"Ah yes the girl my brother's been fucking for the past 6 months or so. Newsflash love, I don't really care."

She winces at his crude language before leaning forwards.

"I normally wouldn't care either, but Elena is my best friend and I'm trying to be the big person and help you out here."

Klaus eyes her deliberately as he downs his drink.

"I don't need your help." He replies with a scoff as he grabs his jacket off the bar and drops a few notes on the counter.

"Oh but I think you do." Caroline counters as she follows him through the crowd and into a quieter part of the club. He's leading her towards the back of the building, and she's fuelled by adrenaline as she follows him out yet another back door into the cool night air.

Klaus just glances at her with barely concealed amusement as he drops his jacket onto the top of some sort of power box sitting innocently in the alleyway next to them before lighting up a cigarette.

"Really? How about you tell me why I need your help Caroline?"

She tries not to shiver at the way her name sounds on his lips as her perfectly planned out arguments slowly start to unravel. Despite the fact that he was gunning for the biggest asshole award there was no denying that he was an incredibly charming man.

"That's going to wreck your voice you know." She tells him instead, gesturing towards the cigarette. He blows smoke into her face somewhat obnoxiously, a smirk on his face as she waves the smoke away.

"Nice try jerk. And you're a mess. I don't know you, but I know that this drinking until you're stupid and smoking until your throat is raw isn't the person you are."

Klaus says nothing, just taps at his cigarette thoughtfully as he takes another drag.

"Look you had a shitty breakup. I get it, it sucks. But there are people that are relying on you, that want you to keep making music. You still want to make music don't you?"

Klaus just shrugs and it's a gesture that infuriates her.

"But self medication is not the answer here. The answer is to get back on your feet, get back into the public eye, and do something that you want to do." She tells him, somewhat proud of herself.

And then he starts to laugh. And it's not just a chuckle, but a full blown, from the belly laugh that has him gasping for breath as he bends over.

She stands there, shocked as this man laughs at her. If it had been anyone else she would have slapped them across the face by now, but she knows that he's just using this as a way of pushing her away.

So they're both surprised then when with a growl Caroline darts forward, twisting one had in his shirt and pushing him backwards, pressing him roughly against the cinder brick of the darkened alleyway.

If he'd been prepared for her sudden move she probably would have bounced off him like a brick wall, because he towers above her and he's broad shouldered and she's trying not to acknowledge that the combination is very attractive to her at the moment.

He's dropped his cigarette and he's fallen silent and he's blinking down at her in part shock and part bemusement as she glares back.

"I think you're being an idiot about this. I am trying to help you." She hisses at him, being careful to enunciate each word so he hears her loud and clear.

He's still just standing there, hands splayed against the brick as he blinks down at her somewhat warily now.

"Look I'm sacrificing some really great sex with your brother here, and against my better judgement I'm still willing to help you. I think you're an incredible musician, and I think that you can be that person again. I want you to be that person again."

There's silence on his part still, so she takes that as a good sign as she continues on.

"If you don't want my help then I'll walk away, no hard feelings. But if you want to do this, then you ring Elena after you've slept off your hangover, apologise to her, and promise that it won't happen again. When you've got what you wanted then we go our separate ways. Those are my terms."

She finally steps back from him, releasing him and turning away as she dusts her dress off. Straightening herself up to her full height she picks up her purse and turns away from him.

She doesn't look back as she walks away.

It's not until she's home that her phone buzzes again with a message. It's an unknown number and she frowns as she thumbs into the message.

_I accept your terms._

_-Klaus_

* * *

A/N: thankyou to all who favorited, followed, reviewed etc. Hope you enjoyed Chapter 2. This is going to be a slow burn so I hope you stick with me!

We'll find out WHY exactly Caroline is choosing to help Klaus through this. Leave your theories with me!

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to be basing Klaus' musical style on yet, but I'm leaning towards a mixture of The Script and John Mayer at the moment.

And I need a name for Kol's band! Drop me a review with a suggested name and I'll use the one I think the most suitable in the next few chapters and give you full credit of course!

Review?


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:/ I don't own the Vampire Diaries or any characters related to the series etc. I'm just playing around with them.**

* * *

"Caroline I'm a little concerned." Cecil Rhodes, her editor gives her a glance from across the large wooden desk. "You haven't turned anything for the new book in for months. Is everything okay?" She adds with a quick smile.

Caroline adores Cecil Rhodes. The woman is very much a motherly figure, someone who looks out for her and only wants the best for her. And she's someone who gives really great advice.

The thing is she hasn't been able to write. She doesn't know what it is that's stopping her, her last book was best seller list successful so if anything she should be a lot more enthusiastic than she currently is to write.

But she isn't. Last night she spent three hours staring at the blank screen of her laptop before typing out three sentences that she deleted instantly. Then she gave up and spent the rest of the night watching re runs of Keeping up with the Kardashians with a glass of wine in hand.

It's not that she's lost her passion for writing. She still wants to write a book, and the last one she wrote was purposefully kept open ended for a sequel, but with everything still resolved in case she wanted to go another direction.

But she doesn't want to do the same thing twice.

"I'm just not really feeling it at the moment Cecil. It's not that I don't feel like writing, it's just that I can't."

Cecil smiles knowingly and nods.

"Writers block then? What have you done to try and get around it?" She asks quietly as she shuffles some papers around on her desk.

Caroline shrugs as a way of reply.

"I don't know, make myself write I suppose? Isn't that the best way to get over it?" She asks with a shrug.

"Actually not really Caroline. And you're not the only one who's ever had writers block, so you can stop worrying about it. Try stepping away. Don't make writing a chore, write because you want to do it."

There's a long pause for a moment as she takes all of this advice in. Cecil sighs as she removes her glasses.

"Caroline, you know that you're my favourite, but my bosses are getting a little concerned that they haven't seen anything from you in almost 2 years. They've given you a deadline of a year to turn something in."

"Or what?" Caroline asks warily.

"They're suggesting that you find representation elsewhere."

She takes the news better than she thought she would, because really when Cecil called this meeting she wasn't expecting anything positive to come out of it. She nods as she hitches her bag up on her shoulder, getting to her feet.

"Thanks Cecil. I'll see what I can do." She says wearily as Cecil just levels her with a concerned gaze. Caroline glances down at her watch, realising that she's already running 10 minutes late for lunch with Klaus.

She'd already met with both him and Elena the day before, where she'd officially signed on to fake date Niklaus Mikaelson, for lack of better words. Klaus still wasn't warming to the idea apparently, because the reception that she'd gotten from him was frosty at best. She's heard whispers about why he was forced to change PR representation so quickly, why exactly he went to Elena. And she's suspecting that Elena knows more about Klaus' situation than she lets on but it isn't her place to ask, and she'll probably never find out so whatever.

As she pushes through the heavy glass entrance door and steps out onto the busy street, almost automatically she reaches for her phone to call Kol. Kol was talented at many things, including the ability to bring her down from whatever ledge she'd brought herself to the edge of, hypothetically speaking. He might spend most nights drinking himself to an early grave, a habit which is starting to concern her more and more, but he'd always been the perfect person to help her forget everything she was worrying about.

But she has to forcibly restrain herself from dialling the familiar number, because she can't use Kol for stuff like this anymore, can't invite him out for coffee so she can bitch about her new deadline, can't meet him at the studio and watch him slam out a rhythm on the guitar so effortlessly. If she wants this relationship with Klaus to look legit then she has to stop seeing Kol so much, because any interaction between them will spark enough media rumours to make her head spin, and another cheating partner of Niklaus Mikaelson's isn't going to make him look any better either.

A part of her wonders why she's even doing this for someone that she doesn't even know, someone that she's only ever seen on TV or seen on the radio, someone that seems larger than life itself.

The thing is she _gets _it. She gets what it's like to love someone so much, to care for them so much that when they disappoint you and things fall apart it seems like the end of the world. For Caroline it had been Tyler Lockwood when they were 19 years old. They'd dated since they were 16 years old, and they were the IT couple of their high school in Mystic Falls Virginia. Tyler had always said that she was it for him, that he was going to marry her when he was finished with law school and he had a steady job. And she was stupid enough to believe him, stupid enough to believe the pretty lies that he whispered in her ear when they were lying in bed together at night, stupid enough to put her life on hold for a year and wait around for him.

College changed Tyler. He'd always been a little bit arrogant, coming from the richest family in Mystic Falls, but she'd allowed it and put up with it because he wasn't overly so. Tyler was decent and loyal to the people that he loved, would go to the ends of the earth for them and back again if required. Tyler moved across the state, and it became harder and harder for her to reach him. He stopped answering calls, stopped answering emails, and he stopped coming home on break. It took her actually driving the 5 hours to go and see him to see for her own eyes that Tyler had well and truly moved on with another girl in his law class, a brunette called Hayley that she'd probably still loathe upon sight in any other circumstances.

Looking back on it now, she's sort of ashamed that she'd taken so long to get over Tyler. For almost a year she'd wallowed, sort of existing but not really living. Her mother had tried to get her out of the house but failed, and had just given her up for a lost cause. But she still made sure that Caroline was getting fed and had enough clothes to get her by. She's sort of grateful that her mother didn't smother her. It's never been Liz Forbes' style, and it allowed Caroline the freedom to learn and grow from this situation.

And she did. On her 21st birthday she'd packed a suitcase, called Elena and told her that she was coming out to L.A. She'd had her heart set on acting, but upon arriving and having a string of rejections had figured that she's probably not cut out for it. Not to mention that she didn't really think much of the industry to start with. Elena had let her crash at her apartment free of charge, and Elena had suggested writing in a conversation over dinner one night, and she was surprised at how well she took to it. Finding Cecil was a fluke, and she thanks her lucky stars every time she looks at her apartment and her bank balance. Looking back on it now, she realises how incredibly lucky she was, because not many people get the opportunity that she's had.

"Excuse me miss? Are you meeting someone?" The waiter prompts her again as she blinks back at him in surprise. Through all her musings, her footsteps had carried her to the IVY, a popular lunch spot with the famous set, and with her and Elena. The waiter is someone that she recognises, and she smiles somewhat apologetically.

"I'm meeting Niklaus Mikaelson? I'm running a little late I'm afraid."

She doesn't miss the incredulous glance that he gives her as he waves her further into the restaurant.

"Of course Miss Forbes. Right this way if you please."

She takes a deep breath as she smooths down her carefully chosen outfit; a bright floral print skirt with a pale blue blouse and pastes a smile onto her face. If their interactions yesterday were anything to go by, she'd need something a lot stronger than water to get through this lunch with her sanity still intact.

Klaus is reclining in his chair wearing dark jeans, boots, and a tight grey t shirt that has her wondering how he's even real, because she never really realised that his shoulders were _that _broad. He licks his lips absentmindedly as he glances out the window, menu still folded neatly in front of him. And just like that her mind descends straight into the gutter, and she's helpless to stop the blush from overtaking her face.

As if he was waiting for that exact moment to be the witness to her embarrassment Klaus' eyes flick to hers as he raises his eyebrows somewhat challengingly. She steels herself for this lunch once more as the waiter very carefully pulls a chair out for her, Klaus watching her movements the entire time with that quiet and careful gaze of his.

"You're late." He tells her once the waiter has scurried away as he's unfolding his napkins with elegant, sure, and practiced movements.

Caroline rolls her eyes as she settles in and picks up a menu.

"Hello to you too darling." She simpers with a fake smile. "SO lovely to see you as well." She says loudly, to detract the couple on the table next to them who are so obviously eavesdropping that she can't even laugh at them.

Klaus just glares at her and she tries to hold her own glare in. She guesses that it's not working if the surprised look on Klaus' face is anything to go by.

"My apologies. I'm guessing you have a perfectly valid reason for being late to our lunch." He says smoothly with a smirk on his face that she'd love to lean over and slap off. But she refrains, perhaps wisely so, instead pursuing the menu provided.

"My meeting with my editor ran a little late. Sorry if it inconvenienced you." She replies absentmindedly as she closes her menu and gestures to the waiter. "Are you ready to order?" She adds, forgetting for a moment that someone is sharing the table with her. She usually comes here alone or with Elena.

The waiter materialises by her side, pen poised over his pad to take down their orders. She doesn't doubt that they'll get their food before most people in here as well, one of the perks of eating with a world famous musician she supposes.

"I'll have the steak please, with a side of salad and a glass of the house red." She orders promptly, getting what she usually does when she has lunch here. Klaus blinks at her in surprise but orders the same with a quick smile to the waiter as he takes the menus and disappears just as fast.

"You didn't exactly strike me as a steak eating sort of girl." Klaus supplies in dull tones as he glances out the window again like he'd rather be anywhere but sitting in front of her.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Is all she says in reply as silence descends on their table once more. She sighs as she fights the urge to pull out her phone to send an SOS message to Elena, because if it had been anyone else she'd already be halfway back home again.

"Look." She said finally, leaning forward so they're closer to each other. "If we're going to do this we both need to make an effort. I'm not looking to like marry you or make you actually be in a relationship with me if that's what you're afraid of. No strings attached, and I'm doing this to help Elena. I'm not a crazy fan girl or anything that's going to relay everything that you say to me to her friends. Except Elena." She finishes thoughtfully.

Klaus' eyebrows rise again, and she wishes that she had the ability to glue them in place, because it's a really annoying habit that's starting to get to her.

"You're a very honest person, has anyone ever told you that?" He says bemusedly as the waiter reappears with their wine. He waits until he steps away once more before he continues speaking. "I apologise if I give you the impression that I'm not all in on this. I'm still getting used to the idea." He adds stiffly as he sips at his wine.

Caroline just shrugs.

"I don't know what led you to Elena and all this, but I'm happy to help. It's not a big deal." She replies nonchalantly.

Klaus levels a gaze at her.

"You're putting your life on hold for me. Why? Don't think I don't realise what you're giving up." He murmurs, almost sternly at her.

She swirls the wine around her glass for a few moments before downing half of it in a few gulps. Klaus looks mildly impressed but doesn't comment, instead waits expectantly for her answer, hands folded neatly in front of him on the table.

"Because I get it." She blurts out, before she can stop herself. She gives up half-heartedly constructing a fabricated story in her head and instead opts for the truth. "I get what it's like to have your heart broken by someone that you thought would be forever. And I can recognise a downward spiral when I see one." She adds with a curt nod.

Klaus is looking at her with a stunned expression on his face, and she realises that maybe she's actually gotten through to him. She's sure that he's heard it before from countless people, but maybe she's the first person that actually does get it. Gets that soul crippling despair, the feeling of hopelessness and abandonment and the idea that you're worthless and not good enough for the world.

And she's probably not far off the mark with the downward spiral thing either, because there are enough recent photographs of Klaus in an alcohol fuelled stupor to publish an unabridged book. Caroline doesn't know how far things could have gone if his team and no doubt family and friends hadn't intervened, but she shudders to think of the idea of Klaus in rehab or worse.

"Okay." He murmurs in reply, almost catching himself as he stumbles over his words. "Thank you then Caroline."

It's the first time that he's said her name without any trace of venom or disdain. And that most definitely doesn't escape her notice.

The rest of their lunch passes in an awkward sort of silence once their food arrives, and soon enough Klaus has settled the bill and is guiding her out of the restaurant with a careful hand on her back. She jolted at first, at the unexpected contact because it's actually the first time that Klaus has voluntarily touched her.

She has just enough time to settle her sunglasses on her nose carefully before they're surrounded. Her first instinct is to immediately think that this is Elena's doing, to drum up some publicity for their new found relationship, to get it out circulating in LA and the tabloids as soon as possible.

But as she casts her mind back to their meeting, she realises that there's no way this is Elena's doing, because Elena wanted to take it slow, test the waters, give them time to get comfortable with each other before throwing them to the sharks.

The din is incredible, a dozen or so photographers and other people all yelling at her, but mainly at Klaus, who's standing next to her with one hand shoved in the pocket of his jeans and looking incredibly uncomfortable. She glances at him in concern as he just gapes at all of the photographers before a change comes over him.

She blinks at him in surprise because honestly it's like someone's flipped a switch because the change is incredible. A charming, lazy sort of smile spreads across his face as he perches his sunglasses on his nose before waving for her to continue through the crowd. She does so and he falls into step beside her, a hand on her back once more.

This only serves to add fuel to the fire so it would seem, as the photographers follow them down the street.

"Klaus are you off the market? How does it feel to have your brother's throwaways?" One of them yells and she's close enough to him that she can hear him growl under his breath. She puts a reassuring hand on his arm to tell him that it's okay, she's used to this sort of stuff whenever she steps out with Kol, but he still looks angry as he shoots the man who yelled out a steely glare as he quickens his pace, almost towing Caroline along with him until they've left the crowd of photographers behind.

There are people staring at them openly as they walk past, and she's following Klaus without really knowing where she's going. He looks surprised to see her beside him still and he stops and turns to her.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear that." He says apologetically, looking down over his sunglasses at her. She shrugs almost nonchalantly.

"I'm used to it. I get the same thing whenever I'm out with Kol as well." She replies easily as she slowly watches him calm down with each deep breath that he takes. He pinches the bridge of his nose, a gesture that surprises her as he turns away from her.

"I don't know how you put up with it. I was so close to punching that guy, and he didn't even direct it towards me." He spits out as she leans against the closest surface, a brick wall as she waits for him to calm down.

"You handled it well. And it comes with the territory of hanging out with famous people." She teases, a little hesitantly because she's not sure how he'll react.

She has yet to see Niklaus Mikaelson smile in her presence, but his lips quirk up at the corners a little bit and she'll take that.

"Do you need me to drop you back home?" He asks politely, schooling his features into an impassive expression once more, and she gets the feeling that any progress she made is lost again, at least for the moment.

"Actually I felt like going for a drive. Did you want to come with me?"

Klaus owns a sleek, silver Mercedes Benz that probably cost more what she used to pay for a years worth of rent before she owned an apartment outright, and she tries not to gape as she slides into the passenger's seat.

Klaus settles in beside the wheel before he fiddles around with the radio and then they're pulling out into the street, and Klaus is asking where she wants to go.

"Just keep driving, I'll tell you when you need to make a turn."

* * *

It turns out they only need to take one turn, the main road goes all the way out of the town and then they're up a winding mountain road that always makes her slightly dizzy whenever she's not in the drivers seat. Klaus isn't commenting on their spur of the moment road trip, just following the quietly murmured instructions that she gives him.

The lookout that they pull up to is entirely deserted, the ordered rows and dizzying skyscrapers of the city spread out before them and the famed Hollywood sign somewhere off in the distance. She always comes here when she needs to just escape and get away for a couple of hours. A new lookout was built a few years ago; as a result barely anyone knows where this one is, mainly the locals and a few tourists that stumble across it by accident.

Klaus is looking around warily as she eyes off the guitar case in the backseat.

"Is this the part where you kill me and dispose of the body?" Klaus whispers urgently as she turns to look at him in surprise because yes, he actually did just crack a joke.

"Yes." She deadpans in reply before shooting him a quick grin. She can work with this, as awkward as it still is. "Bring the guitar and come with me." She adds before she gets out of the car and slams the door, the familiar sound of gravel crunching underneath her boots as she makes a beeline for the worn, wooden picnic table that provides uninterrupted views of the city stretched out below

She hears his footsteps behind her and he doesn't sit on the table as she does, instead setting the case down carefully and leaning against the table with his arms crossed over his chest. His face is expressionless as he takes in the view, but a part of her thinks that maybe he's just a little bit impressed.

"Why did you take me here?" He says gruffly as he gives her a brief glance. She looks down at her boots and then back at him.

"Because there's no one around for miles. And while I'm not going to play your therapist it doesn't take a genius to see that you needed to step back for a minute and be alone."

He looks confused as he frowns around his Ray Bans at her.

"But you're here." He replies pointedly. She sighs and rolls her eyes.

"If you want, I can be quiet as a mouse. You won't even notice I'm here."

"But I don't understand what you want me to do." He mutters somewhat confusedly, looking a bit out of his depth. She realises that he hasn't needed to do this for a long time, to hang out one on one with a girl who isn't one of his close friends, or family, or Tatia. This is new for him as well.

"You can do whatever you want. But I was hoping that you'd play something for me." She says quietly with a shrug, gesturing to the guitar sitting between them, an obvious barrier.

"I'd rather not." He replies right away in a cold voice.

"That's okay as well. I'll play something then. Do you mind?" She asks innocently, pulling the guitar case towards her and flipping the latches. He looks frightened for a moment, and he uncrosses his arms and looks very much like he wants to pull the guitar back towards him and hide it somewhere.

She has to bite back a laugh as he gives her a jerky nod and she pulls the guitar from the case. It's a beautiful instrument, old and worn and obviously well loved yet very well maintained and taken care of. The strings are brand new and probably need breaking in, like Klaus has strung it after a concert but never bothered to play it anymore. It's with a pang of sadness that she realises that's probably exactly what happened.

She gives it an experimental strum and tweaks a few knobs to get it back into tune. A surprised expression comes across Klaus' face as he watches her tune his instrument like she's been doing it all her life.

She plucks out a pattern on the strings, not really playing anything in particular, just getting used to the semi familiar sensation, the press of strings against the pad of her fingers and the vibrations that course up her arm.

"I wasn't aware that you played guitar." Klaus says, still slightly stunned at this revelation.

"I don't." Caroline replies as she plays the familiar intro to Wonderwall by Oasis, just because she can. "At least not very well." She adds as she loses her rhythm with a laugh.

Klaus groans into his hands as she starts up again.

"I'm afraid you're no John Mayer love." He murmurs tentatively, like he's not sure if he's allowed to do this, to joke around and tease her. She doesn't really care; in fact she welcomes it because it means that he's at least willing to put up with her.

He steps closer to her as she looks up at him.

"You're not pressing down hard enough and you're playing the wrong chords." He supplies helpfully, hopping up onto the table and settling in next to her, the entire side of his body pressed up around her.

She almost jumps when his arm goes around her shoulders, hand reaching down to cover hers, to show her the right placement on the strings. She tries to stop herself from hyperventilating, because holy shit this is Niklaus Mikaelson, and he's sort of giving her a guitar lesson.

The sun is beating down on them pleasantly and she can't help but think that this would look like a scene right out of a movie to anyone watching. His hands are warm and she can feel the calluses on the pads of his fingers as he presses down on hers as she strums. The sound produced is much better than the ones she'd been making previous, and she's helpless to stop the smile from spreading across her face as Klaus walks her through the chords needed to play the song.

She can't help but chance a glance at him. His eyebrows are furrowed in concentration as he explains a strumming technique and his eyes are focused on the strings of the guitar. But there's this look in his eyes that has her thinking that he's missed this a little bit more than he's letting on.

She stops playing and it's like a spell has been broken because he moves away from her instantly, putting at least a foot of distance between them.

"Sorry." He mutters as he looks at anywhere but Caroline.

"It's okay Klaus." She replies softly as she rests the guitar in her lap. "Will you play something? Show the amateur how it's done?" She requests again, crossing her fingers that he'll agree.

He sighs, a world weary sigh like he can't wait for this to be over and done with. He holds out a hand and she passes the instrument over carefully, because he probably would kill her and bury her body if she dropped the guitar over the gravel.

He retunes the guitar to something a little different and looks at her expectantly.

"What am I playing for you then Caroline?"

She waves a dismissive hand as she leans back on her elbows, boots kicking up in front of her.

"Anything you want."

He plays a slowed down, almost reggae version of Kanye West's 'Heartless' and it shouldn't work but it does, beautifully so. And when he starts singing, albeit softly she marvels at how _good _he is, how he can turn a rap song into something that's out of this world amazing. She's never heard him sing it before, and she has the feeling that this is a once in a lifetime world exclusive.

He's surprised when she joins in with the chorus, but doesn't lose his place as easily as she did, continuing the accompaniment as she keeps singing and it's nice, this thing that they're doing together.

He puts the guitar back in the case after he finishes the song and she doesn't push him anymore, because he doesn't realise it yet but he's made a lot of progress today.

She'll have to call Elena tonight to give her an update of how the day went, but right now as the sun sinks behind the horizon and the lights start to twinkle down below she doesn't want too.

Because he's still sitting beside her. And things are silent, but there's no awkwardness there anymore. The ice has been broken, and she knows now that there's no turning back from this.

She almost doesn't hear the words that he says to her when she gets up and brushes off her clothes, but she smiles when she does.

"Thank you Caroline."

* * *

**AN/: #slowburn**

Give me your best band names for Kol's band people!

Review?


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